Phantoms In The Mist
by Liegenschonheit
Summary: Sango and Miroku's souls are trapped inside a mysterious blue orb, where Sango must battle her deepest fears in order to survive. Sango,Miroku. --REVISED--
1. Chapter One

Sango huddled down deeper into her blankets and sighed. It was a warm spring night, but not even a pile of extra blankets and a roaring fire could dispell the aching coldness in her bones. Today was been her brother Kohaku's twelfth birthday. She remembered vividly his upturned face smiling at her as she offered him words of encouragement and praise, and how they had both worked day and night so that their father could be proud of them. A tear slid down her face and dripped off the end of her nose as she thought of her slain family and village. 

She could still see their faces as they died, the shocked expressions of pain and disbelief as Kohaku's thrown weapon bit deep into their flesh. And Kohaku--poor Haku-- who had been used like a puppet against his will to slaughter his own family. Sango bit her lip and sobbed silently, remorse and guilt shaking her entire body. She should have died with them. She _had_ died with them. But Naraku had brought her back. 

_Bastard!_ Sango raged internally, fists clenching tight. _He murdered my entire family and kept me alive to bear the pain of it._

A soft nose nuzzled Sango's hand, then pushed it's entire head under her palm to be petted. Kirara, in her small kittenish form, looked up into Sango's eyes and purred. Yawning hugely, little cat flopped down beside her and snuggled close. 

A small smile broke through Sango's tears. "You're right, Kirara, I'm glad I didn't leave you behind," she whispered, "You and I are all that are left." 

Kirara's tongue flitted out to lick away one of Sango's salty tears. Lowering her head back to her paws, Kirara's big red eyes closed and she fell instantly to sleep. Sango curled her body around the warm animal beside her and closed her eyes. Mentally she drew up Kohaku's image in as much detail as she could muster. 

"Happy birthday, little brother," she whispered into the night," I love you. And I will get you back." 

Sango's breathing deepened as she allowed herself to succumb to sleep, exhausted from weeping. She was utterly unaware of the worried gazes leveled at her from across the campfire. 

"Do you think she's going to be ok?" Kagome said softly, an unhappy expression creasing her brow. She had been covertly watching Sango under the pretext of mending Inuyasha's torn shirt. 

"Yeah, she'll be fine. She may be strong but she's still a girl. You _females_ are always so emotional," Inuyasha's replied, voice thick with superiority and condescention. 

"Oh yeah?" Kagome jumped to her feet, dropping her mending into the dirt. "If _we're_ the ones that are so emotional then why do you still get all sentamental whenever someone mentions Kikyo?" 

Inuyasha was also on his feet in seconds. "I am concerned about Kikyo, not _sentamental_, you little brat! I don't even wanna be with Kikyo anymore, I wanna be with--" Inuyasha broke off suddenly and looked at the flushed angry face inches from his own. Abruptly, he turned from Kagome and sat down, back toward her. 

"You wanna be with who?" Kagome demanded, stamping her foot in frustration. 

"Someone," Inuyasha said sullenly,"maybe no one. I just wanna be left alone and not bothered by annoying girls like you." 

Kagome turned away and sat back down with her back toward _him_. Picking up the now dirty shirt she took great satistfaction in stabbing the needle savagely into it. 

Miroku's gaze had never wavered from Sango' s sleeping form during Kagome and Inuyasha's squabble. In fact, he appeared to have not even heard it. 

"I will protect you from demons, Sango," Kagome heard him whisper, "but I wish you would let me help you with the demons inside." 

***

By around noon the next day, the sun had become a relentless foe. Walking across open ground with no trees to shade their path, the group had become sticky and saturated with sweat. 

"Aww, I'm going to melt soon if I don't get some shade!" Shippo complained as they wearily climbed yet another rolling hill in Japan's fudal countryside. As they crested the hill, Kagome shaded her eyes and peered into the valley below them. At the base of the valley, she could just make out a dark green line of tall trees. 

"Look!" She cried, pointing downward. "Shade! And I bet since there are so many trees down there that there is some water too." She clapped her hands together excitedly. "I would _die_ for a swim right now!" 

"I wish you would anyway," Inuyasha muttered, "So we wouldn't have to listen to you anymore." 

Songo and Miroku exchanged a look and shook their heads. Swinging Shippo into her arms, Sango walked beside Miroku toward the shade, leaving Kagome and Inuyasha to their arguement. 

"Lover's quarrel," commented Miroku under his breath. Sango and Shippo nodded their agreement. 

"Hey!" Kagome cried from behind them, "Wait for me! Inuyasha, _sit_!" 

They dragged themselves gratefully into the shade of the trees and immediately flopped to the cool ground. Inuyasha glared balefully at Kagome and rubbed his still sore behind. He truly hated having to obey her "sit" commands, not only was it degrading, it just plain _hurt_. Kagome dissapeared for a moment behind some low scrub bushes, then reappeared. 

"I was right, there is water!" she announced, excitedly hopping from one foot to the other. "Sango, do you wanna go for a swim?" 

Sango nodded enthusiastically and climbed to her feet. She was tired, hot and sticky, covered in dust from travel and her teeth felt like they were made of sandpaper against her tongue. Water definetly sounded appealing at the moment. 

"You'd better not spy on us," Sango said to Miroku warily as she started to follow Kagome into the bushes, "and that goes for you too, Inuyasha. If you boys want to swim you can either wait till we are done or find your own spot further away." 

Approximately five minutes later, Miroku seated himself comfortably in the crotch of two large tree branches. Honestly, with a warning like that, it was almost as if Sango were _inviting_ him to spy on her. Besides which, Kagome had brought her back one of those strange skin tight suits for swimming anyway, so it wasn't like they were naked. Leaning farther out over the branch to get a better look, Miroku marveled at just how good Sango looked wearing practically nothing. The suit was midnight blue, which accentuated her long smooth legs and ephasized the lithe curve of her hip. Her waist was tapered nicely and fleshed out into the swell of her breasts. Which, Miroku thought privately, were definetly some of the best he had ever seen. Even from here they looked soft and white as milk against the plunging blue neckline of the bathingsuit. Of course, spying on her from above gave him the best possible view of them. 

"So I guess you like getting slapped around by Sango?" Inuyasha's voice invaded Miroku's contemplation. 

"Some things are worth taking the punishment for," replied the letcherous monk stoically. "You're up here risking Kagome's wrath to spy on her aren't you?" 

"Of course not!" Inuyasha gripped the tree branch he was perched on so tightly that the bark began to peel off. "I was just up here to try and talk your sorry ass out of doing something stupid!" Inuyasha's ears twitched foreward as he heard girlish laughter from below. 

"Ah look," Miroku said contentedly,"They're splashing eachother." 

"Move your big head, I can't see!" Inuyasha said, moving closer for a better view. 

Inuyasha was almost positive he heard Miroku snort with suppressed laughter, but he was too busy clambering out on the limb for a better view to reply. 

***

Sango was combing out her hair rhythmically, a task that had sent her into a strange semi-trance. Pulling the comb through a section of her drying hair, seperating tangles with the fingers of her other hand, and laying the combed section over her shoulder over and over had given her time to think. She was daydreaming about her family again, remembering her mother combing out her long sleek tresses and singing a sweet wordless melody to herself. After her mother had died, she had sung the song for Kohaku when he had nightmares. 

"Sango," Shippo had come to sit on the rock beside her, "What are you singing? Its pretty." 

Sango smiled sadly and patted the fox-boy on his head. "It was a song my mother used to sing to me, and I used to sing for my brother." 

"Do you think we'll get him back, Sango?" Shippo asked, casting his eyes downward, "Kohaku I mean." 

Sango swallowed hard. "I think--" her voice broke slightly, "I think my brother is still alive, somewhere. I just hope that I don't have to kill him-- " 

"Sango, what is that?" Shippo broke in, standing on his tiptoes and pointing frantically upward. From the trees above Sango's head a shining blue orb had floated downward, suspended on a string of nearly transparent spider silk. It glowed softly and swirls of colour danced over it's surface opalescently. 

Sango lept to her feet, comb discarded beside her. "I don't know what that is," she said grimly, "But I know what _that_ is!" She was looking past the orb at the huge lurking shape hiding in the branches of the tree. The size of a human, it had eight long fur covered legs which it was using to lower the orb down and secure it from falling by wrapping the silk around a tree branch. It's body was huge and black, and it had twin parallel gray stripes running down it's back. It's eyes gleamed red and were fixed on the little fox-boy. 

As Sango reached beside her where she had laid Hiraikotsu, her boomerang, and quickly swept it back into throwing position, preparing to hurl it at the spider-demon. The spider had wasted no time and had flung several thick strands of spider silk around Shippo, who was struggling and screaming for Sango to help him. 

Hiraikotsu whistled as it sailed through the air, snapping smaller tree limbs in it's flight toward the spider. It appeared to overshoot and miss it's target, but a graceful half-arc turn backward neatly sent the backward curve of the boomerang around to sever the monster's head. With a spurt of red-black demon blood, the entire massive body fell from the tree, landing on the ground with a thump. 

Shippo also landed with a much smaller thump, falling bottom first in the dirt. "Ugh, it smells!" He complained, struggling against the spider silk that encased him. Sango knelt before him and unravelled the long thick strands of webbing. Once free, Shippo did a little dance in place, checking himself everywhere making sure there were no spider eggs or anything on him. Suddenly, he stopped and stood still, aware of how silly he must have looked to Sango. 

Sango had brushed the last of the sticky fibre from her hands and was now examining the glowing blue orb. The ball was about the size of a goose egg, but perfectly spherical. The colours on the surface swirled like oil in water hypnotically. Almost without thinking, Sango reached up and plucked the orb from the tree like an apple. 

"Sango, no! You don't know what it--" Shippo grabbed at her leg, but her hand had already pulled the orb free. Staring deep into the depths of the ball, Sango exhaled sharply, her breath escaping her body like a fog to swirl around the orb. Her frame swayed for a moment, then collapsed to the ground under the tree, only feet away from the corpse of the spider. 

"Sango!" Shippo shook her frantically, trying to revive her, but her eyelids did't even flutter. In a blind panic, Shippo turned around and ran at top speed back to where the others were. Ignoring the arguement between Kagome and Inuyasha, Shippo instead flung himself at Miroku. 

"Miroku, you have to help! Sango killed the spider and grabbed the blue ball and I can't wake her up and she might be dead!" Shippo wailed, clutching the Monk's tunic tightly, tears streaming down his cheeks. 

Miroku set the wailing fox-boy down. "Where is Sango?" He demanded. The sobbing Shippo pointed. "Right. You get Inuyasha and Kagome, I'll go help Sango." 

"Miroku wait! Don't touch the--" Shippo called after him, but Miroku didn't hear. 

The first thing Miroku noticed was the dead spider demon. Rushing to Sango's side, he turned her face in his hands, checking her neck and arms for spider bites. He let out a sigh of relief at the smooth expanses of soft skin. Still, despite the heat of the day, her skin was cold. A line of fogged breath was trailing out of her mouth to wrap around something in her hand. For once not even considering molesting her sleeping body, Miroku pried her fingers open and beheld the beautiful blue orb. Eyes widening in wonder, the monk plucked it from her hand and held it before his eyes. Within a heartbeat, he collapsed across Sango's unconscious form, unmoving. 

Less than a minute later, Inuyasha burst through the brush and came to a dead stop beside the inert forms of Miroku and Sango. Sniffing the air carefully but not detecting any poison, he dropped to a crouch beside them. Kagome and Shippo came running towards him, Shippo in Kagome's arms. Kagome's human legs had been unable to keep up with Inuyasha's half demon speed. 

"Are they dead?" she whispered softly, eyes wide. Shippo moaned and buried his head against her shoulder. 

"No," Inuyasha replied, carefully turning Miroku over to examine him. Inuyasha and Kagome both saw the orb at the same moment. Kagome reached toward it. 

"Kagome, stop!" Inuyasha commanded. With a look of suprise, she halted in mid-reach and looked at him curiously. 

"It's an Orb Of Lost Souls." He said, reaching over to pick it up in a scrap of cloth, careful not to let it touch his skin. "The Orbs are created to gather souls for their master, so she can eat them at her leisure. I've only seen one of them before. I wonder how the spider-demon got his mitts on it." 

"How could he have touched it without it stealing his soul too?" Kagome wondered aloud, examining the blue ball in Inuyasha's hand. 

"Don't be dumb, Kagome. Demons don't have souls." Inuyasha tucked the ball into Miroku's pocket. and stood up. "Get on my back." 

"Where are we going?" Kagome asked, putting her hands on his shoulders and preparing to straddle him piggy-back style. Inuyasha's mouth tightened. 

"We have to get their souls out of the Orb before it completely absorbs them. There are only two people I know who can get the orb to release the souls, and only one of them _might_ be willing to help us." 

"Who?" Kagome asked, clamboring astride Inuyasha's back and tucking her skirt around her legs so that her panties wouldn't show. 

Inuyasha braced himself before replying. "Kikyo." 

To his suprise, Kagome's only response was a deflated "Oh." 

"Shippo, watch over them until we get back. Don't let anything happen to their bodies." Inuyasha lept over a fallen log and poised himself to launch into his demon-speed run. "Oh, and clear away that dead body. It's stinking up the place." 

"Ugh!" Shippo cried, disgusted. Inuyasha sped away with Kagome clinging to his back. "Gross," the fox demon muttered, revolted. Then he sighed and began to drag the demon corpse away from Sango and Miroku. 


	2. Chapter Two

***

Sango stood alone in a sea of swirling mist. She turned once in a full circle, squinting in the distance. Nothing. Just pure white and gray, as far as she could see. _Where am I?,_ she couldn't remember how she got here, or when. _Am I Dead?_

In the distance, she saw a figure, darker gray against the mist walking toward her. Peering at it until her eyes hurt and her vision began to swim, Sango still couldn't make out it's face. As it strode closer, mist bending and parting like waves of water in it's path, she saw that the leather armour it wore was exactly the same as her own. 

_Father?_ Sango gasped as his face was finally revealed. Without a second thought she hurled herself at him like she had as a child. He caught her in his arms and held her tightly while she clutched him and wept. She didn't care if she were dead if she could be with her family again. Looking up into his face, he smiled gently at her and wiped a tear from her cheek. 

"Sango?" A familiar voice called to her from a distance, "Sango, can you hear me?" 

Pulling away from her father slightly, Sango turned in the direction the voice was calling from. "Miroku?" She said wonderingly. "I'm over here!" She called out to the void. 

A moment later Miroku strode out of the fog, the rings on his staff chiming together as he walked. "Sango, are you all right?" His eyes were worried as he looked her up and down for injuries. Sango's cheeks burned as his gaze lingered longer than necessary on her breasts. 

"I'm fine," she snapped, crossing one arm over her chest, "My father found me--" 

"Your father?" Miroku interupted, confused, "Sango, there is no one else here." 

Sango frowned. She could still feel his warmth right behind her. She turned around to look at him, but there was no one there. "But he was just here..." 

Miroku put his hands on her shoulders and gently turned her to face him. "Sango, do you know where we are? Or how we got here?" His hands roved a little, unintentionally he was certain. As she felt his hands slipping downward, Sango's eyes narrowed dangerously. Miroku recognised it as a sign that he was going to have a palm shaped welt across his cheek if he didn't behave. He dropped his hands to his sides. 

Sango glared at him, then considered his question. "I killed a spider demon," she replied finally, "And I was looking at a beautiful blue orb..." her voice trailed off. She looked thoughtful. "It must have been the orb that killed me." 

"Killed you!" Miroku looked suprised, then laughed. "Sango, you aren't dead. You were alive when I found you." He glanced around them, frowning at the mist. "Anyway, if this is Heaven, it's a severe disappointment. Except of course, for the angels," he added, taking Sango's hand and smiling suggestively. She didn't look ammused. 

Instead, Sango pulled her hand away and wrapped both arms around herself. The mist wasn't cold exactly, but it wasn't warm either. "How exactly did _you_ get here, Miroku?" she asked, glancing suspiciously at the monk. If her father hadn't been real, how could she be sure he was? 

Miroku paused, remembering. "Shippo took me to where you had fallen unconscious. I saw the blue orb in your hand and picked it up--thats the last thing I remember." Sudden comprehension dawned on his face. "The orb has stolen our souls, Sango! Thats why your breath was leaving your body--" 

"My _what_? That blue ball has our souls? Are we _inside_ of it? Sango's mouth opened in shock. She shook her head firmly. "But then why was my father here?" 

Miroku shrugged slightly. "The only thing I can think of is that the nature of the orb is to physically manifest things we feel strongly about or desire most." 

Sango sat down in the mist. "How do we fight this, Miroku?" She asked softly, "I can battle monsters and demons I can see, but how do I defeat something so--" At a loss for words, Sango sighed. 

Miroku knelt beside her, striken by the dispair in her voice. Hesitating momentarily, he stroked Sango's dark hair and lightly caressed her cheek. "We'll fight it together, Sango," He told her encouragingly, "We won't let it take our souls." 

Sango raised her head and looked into his eyes searchingly, wiping away the tears that had begun to form in her own. Miroku captured her hand in one of his and held it, stroking his thumb across her fingers. Sango's sad mouth slowly turned into a small smile. Then the look on her face transformed into one of shock. "Miroku, you-- you're touching me without trying to grope me!" 

Miroku's eyebrows raised, then he grinned at her wolfishly. "Does that mean that you want me to grope you?" 

Sango's face flushed a manic shade of red. "No!" She said forcefully, pulling her hand out of his grasp and scooting herself backward away from him. 

"Are you sure about that?" Miroku said pursuasively, "Something like that could take our minds off of our current situation, not to mention the fact that since our physical bodies wouldn't be involved, it wouldn't count back in the real world. Right?" Miroku smiled in what he hoped was his most charming manner. Sango's hand twitched and swung up in the deadly slapping position he had come to fear. "Ok, ok. I get the hint." 

Miroku closed his eyes and sighed. Even though she liked to abuse him as much as he liked to fondle her, Miroku still would have done anything to have just one chance with Sango. However, it didn't seem prudent to bring it up at a time like this. Sango was making a strange half-strangled half-gasp noise in the back of her throat and staring into the mist behind Miroku with the widest eyes he had ever seen. Twisting around to see what she was staring at, Miroku nearly fell over from shock. 

_Holy shit,_ he thought, stunned, _I am in big trouble now._

From out of the swirling gray mist behind him came a figure, _definetly_ female and identical to Sango. Clad in nothing but her long hair, she swayed gracefully toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Pressing her nude torso against his, she smiled up at him angelically. 

"Oh Miroku," the astonishingly firm aparition breathed in Sango's voice, "I have been wanting you for so long..." 

As sorely tempted as Miroku was, he was not stupid. As much as he would like to do what his lecherous ways bade him do, Miroku knew he would be killed. Utterly. Instead, he put his hands to the shoulders of the false Sango and pushed her--it away from him. Still, after his great feat of willpower, Miroku was unable to keep himself from staring at the assets she had so prominently on display. 

Almost too late he saw Sango's fist of death sailing his way. It connected squarely, flinging him off his feet and making his eyes blur. His head pounding, he looked upward at a murderous-looking Sango who's florid face had almost turned purple with anger. 

"Physical manifestation of the thing you desire most?" Sango nearly choked on the words. Raising her hand to slap him again, she instead let it drop and turned her back on him. Walking several yards away, she once again flopped down into the mist. 

_Stupid Miroku,_ Sango seethed, teeth clenched so tightly in anger that she could feel her pulse beating in her temples,_That was _me_! He imagined me naked in his arms, kissing him--How dare he! I would never--_ But in her mind at least, Sango had to be honest with herself. _ Wouldn't you though?_ a sneaky part of her brain interjected, _You have thought about what it would be like. And anyone with eyes and half a brain can tell how you feel about him..._

Sango drew her black and red clad knees into her chest and rested her stinging cheeks against them. She was beginning to think that her face would never return to it's normal colour. True, she did have some feelings for Miroku, but like Kagome, she would never be able to tell him. Not unless he said something first. Besides, she still had that unresolved problem with Kohaku and Naraku, and she wouldn't go dragging anyone else into _that_. It was her burden alone to bear. 

Miroku looked at Sango's bowed back and sighed. At her blow, whatever fantasy had caused the psudo-Sango to appear had been dislodged, and the apparition had dissapeared. He would have liked to hold her like that, the real Sango. Or just her soul, as it were. Resting his staff across his knees, he watched her shiver in the not-quite-cold fog. He wondered what she was thinking. 

_It's all my fault, I should have killed both of us when I had the chance,_ Sango's heart always returned to the same place when she let her thoughts wander. With Kagome, Inuyasha and Miroku, it was easy to close her heart off for a time and allow herself to laugh or be happy. But the thoughts always found her again, clutching her heart in an icy grip. _Somehow, I will free Kohaku. And then I will die too._

The mist in front of her feet had begun to seethe and boil as she had thought of her slain family. With this last affirmation of her impending death, the ground had exploded upward, sending her flying back into Miroku. The mist had darkened, swirling ominously higher in a giant black cloud that at once began to consolidate itself. It formed a body, black and gleaming like a beetle, in the shape of a huge scaled lizard. It stood upright on it's hind legs and grasped a weapon exactly like Kohaku's, a sort of scythe blade on the end of a chain. It glared at Sango, it's eyes glowing a poisonous green. 

"What is it?" Sango gasped, scrambling to her feet. Behind her, she could feel Miroku doing the same thing. 

"Stupid girl child," the Demon said, advancing on her, "everything is all your fault. Your entire family is dead because of _you_." 

Sango felt her knees tremble. Out of habit, she reached for Hiraikotsu and found it by feel in the mist beside her, though it hadn't been there before she reached for it. The Demon's gaze still bore into her, and she found that she couldn't lift her arm to throw her weapon. 

"You weren't careful enough or watchful enough, you didn't see the trap before it was too late. They all counted on you, and you failed them. You don't deserve to live." The Demon flung his weapon at her. It whistled as it flew and hooked cruelly into the her shoulder. With a tug on the chain, the Demon tore a hole in Sango's flesh. 

Sango fell to her knees. Tears streamed down her face. How could she fight against it? Everything it said was _true_, the same thing her heart had been telling her for all this time. Blood flowed thickly from the wound, coating her hands in sticky redness. She could feel her strength leaving her. 

"Stupid, worthless, child. You don't even have the strength to free your brother who needs you." The Demon licked his reptillian lips and smiled horrifically. He was going to kill her. Sango closed her eyes. 

Miroku furiously tore the wrapping from his hand and aimed his Windtunnel at the Demon. But nothing happened. Examining his palm, Miroku saw that it was whole and seamless. Cursing, he instead grasped his staff and tried to wade into the fray to save Sango. But he couldn't. His feet were mired in the mist, and wouldn't budge. 

This was Sango's Demon. It was her fight. And she was losing. Miroku thought desperately. Maybe she had to fight this thing on her own, but he would at least be here to support her. "Sango!" He yelled to her. She glanced at him, broken out of the trancelike state she had fallen into. "It's your Internal Demon, it's words are nothing but your own doubts!" She cocked her head and looked anew at the Demon. 

"Sango, you have to live. You can't let it kill your soul, there are people who need you!" Miroku was frantic now. 

The Demon scoffed. "No one needs _you_. You are useless, helpless and a burden. You couldn't even save poor Kohaku." 

"We need you Sango!" Miroku's voice was desperate. "Kagome, Inuyasha and I need you to help us kill Naraku." He hesitated, but he knew if he didn't say it the Demon would have her. "I need you Sango. I need you to slap me around and keep me in line. I need you to keep me company when I think everything is hopeless." He took a deep breath. "Without you around, I couldn't make myself go on anymore, Sango. Please." 

"Lies!" the Demon spat. Sango hadn't moved from her kneeling position, and the Demon lifted it's arm to deliver the killing blow. "Worthless girl, betrayer of family and home, burden to your friends. You deserve death." 

The blade once again cut through the air toward Sango. Miroku's breath stopped. Without raising her head, she brought her sword up to block it. She twisted the blade expertly, tangling the chain around the sword and pulling the weapon out of the Demon's grasp. Flinging both weapons out of the Demon's reach, Sango finally was able to face it. Eyes still streaming and chin covered in blood from her chest, Sango nevertheless looked defiant. No, she looked angry. 

"I have listened to you long enough, Demon," she said flatly. "My friends are counting on me. Kohaku is counting on me too. I wont be able help anyone if I keep you in my heart." She rose slowly and unsteadily to her feet as she spoke. 

"You can't defy me, you know I speak truth," the Demon said, fixing her again with it's glowing green eyes. 

This time Sango wasn't effected by them. "No," she said simply and swung Hiraikotsu into flight. It arced through the mist and neatly hooked the Demon's neck. Slicing through scales, flesh and bone, Hiraikotsu returned to Sango as a spurt of black blood bubbled from the wound. Already, the Demon form was fading back into mist. 

Panting, Sango turned. Though her armour was black and didn't show bloodstains, her hands and face were smeared with it. Her hair was disheveled and her eyes red from the tears that still dripped from her chin. She reached one hand toward him pleadingly. "Miroku..." 

Then Sango crumpled and fell to the ground. 

***

Miroku had been watching Sango sleep for the last several hours. At least, he was fairly certain it was hours, there was no real way to tell time here. Her sleep was fitful, but at least she already looked healthier. After she had fallen, he had rushed to her side to discover that the blood had vanished and her wound had disappeared. He had been suprised, but then remembered that it was her soul that had sustained the injury, not her body. 

If the Demon had killed her though, Miroku was certain that Sango's body would have died as well. Soul death was just as fatal as physical death. Gently, he caressed Sango's face with a finger, trying to will her awake. 

She was so beautiful, he had thought so since the first time he saw her. Of course, she had been in a very bad way, what with Naraku's jewel shard in her back barely keeping her alive. Her face had been clouded by rage, but Miroku had still been struck by the intensity and passion of that face. And by the way her tight black armour had clung to every curve. She had been the epitome of beauty and danger, and had moved with deadly gracefulness. She embodied a combination Miroku hadn't been able to resist. And she was strong. She had endured more than should be humanly possible, and still managed to be the backbone of support in their little group. 

Sango's eyelids began to flutter, and Miroku quickly pulled his hand back before she could focus on him. In a situation like this one, he knew from experience that Sango would slap first and ask questions later. 

"Miroku," Sango murmered as she fought her way back into consciousness, "you saved me." 

Miroku shook his head and risked her wrath to push a stray hair out of her face. "No, you saved yourself. Not many people could confront their self recriminations and win." Sango's mouth softened into a smile. Instead of belting him for touching her, she caught his hand and held it tightly. 

"It was you who made me realize what a fool I'd been. You all depend on me, and I was too busy blaming myself for things..." She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. "Things that were _not_ my fault. I tried to stop Kohaku when Naraku controlled him, I didn't run away. And that's what matters." 

Her eyes, when she opened them, were calmer than Miroku had ever seen them. The lingering storm clouds of fear and self-doubt had been chased away. "And," She added, her voice soft with disbelief,"you need me." She hesitantly reached up with her free hand to flickeringly touch his face. 

Miroku took a deep breath and leaned into her touch. "I do need you. Sango, if something were to happen to you..." He swallowed hard and clasped her hand tighter,"It would kill me." One of her fingertips lightly brushed his lip in passing, and Miroku caught it with a light kiss. Sango's heart was pounding in her chest like it wanted to break free. Miroku's eyes were fixed to Sango's face, dark with an unfamiliar emotion. "Sango, I've never been able to tell you this. I--I'm in love with you. I don't expect you to feel the same way about me, I just thought you should know--" 

Sango flung her arms around his neck and buried her face in the purple robe he wore. Her shoulders shook and Miroku could feel the moisture of her tears against his neck. Pulling away only slightly to look up at him, Sango smiled through her tears. Miroku's heart lept in his chest as he realized that her tears were of joy, not because she was distressed by his declaration. He wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly to him, molding her body against his. 

"Miroku, I love you too," Sango whispered, joy radiating from her face. Miroku's breath caught, looking at her. Beautiful wasn't a strong enough word, Sango was gorgeous. Tears clung to her long lashes, and her eyes sparkled with the first real happiness he had ever seen in them.Tracing the curve of her cheek with his fingertips, Miroku's gaze settled on her lips. They looked achingly soft, and he felt her breath catch as he leaned in to angle his lips across hers in a soft kiss. Their first, though it was something Miroku had thought of doing a hundred times. Sango's body trembled slightly as she let herself get lost in the intensity of his kiss, parting her lips under his and inviting him to kiss more deeply. Without fear of retaliation, Miroku slid his hands over Sango's back and down the soft curves of her hips. Sango's heart was beating so hard that Miroku could feel it racing against him as she pulled the tie from his hair and twined her fingers into the dark locks. Miroku thought he would explode, he wanted desperately to touch every inch of her, to pull away the armour that had fascinated him for so long and memorize every detail of her. But he wouldn't push her too quickly, as much as he wanted to go plunging headlong into a torrid affair. He didn't want to risk frightening her away. Gently, he broke the kiss and cradled her in his arms, trailing his lips lightly down her neck. 

Suddenly, Sango stiffened. Pushing him back slightly, she frowned at him. Miroku braced himself for the worst. "Miroku, what about all those other women? The ones you always ask if they will bear your son?" 

Miroku felt his face flush. She would have to remember something like that at a time like this. "I knew you would never really let me get near them, Sango. You were always slapping and punching me for asking them. I always asked anyway, because I liked that you would get so jealous. It made me think that you actually had some feelings for me buried inside. Besides," Miroku's voice lowered, "If I had really wanted to sleep with any of those women I would have asked when you weren't around." 

Sango's eyes narrowed dangerously. "You didn't, did you?" 

"No!" Miroku cried, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I told you Sango, I love you. Not anyone else." 

Sango visibly relaxed. "All right. I trust you," she said, comming back into his arms. "But If you even try to flirt with another woman I will kill you myself." 

Miroku laughed. Then frowned, staring off at something he might have seen flickering in the distance. "What's that?" 

It was Sango's turn to stare hard into the swirling mist. She thought she might have seen something, gleaming white against the dingy white of the mist. As it moved closer, Sango gasped. "It's one of Kikyo's soul stealing demons!" 

From all around them came more, perhaps a dozen of them. Sango shrunk back in horror as several of them began winding themselves around Miroku's torso, pulling him away from her and into the air. She could feel several more wrapping their cold bodies around her, pulling her upward as well. Heart beating furiously in fear, Sango once again lost consciousness. 

***

Sango opened her eyes, and squinted at the unfamiliar sky. Trees flickered in the firelight and above them she could see a patch of night sky. Her body felt strangely heavy as she struggled to sit up. Beside her, she could see Miroku trying to push himself upright as well. 

A young woman crouched beside Sango, watching her with flat depthless eyes. "They will live," the woman who looked so much like Kagome announced standing. "They were freed before the Orb could completely absorb their souls." The young priestess, resurrected from the grave, turned to look at Inuyasha. "All debts between us have been repaid. I will not come to your aid again. I ask that you do not come to mine either. Now please, take me back." 

Miroku had managed to stand and reached out to touch Kikyo's shoulder. "Thank you, Kikyo." 

The priestess said nothing, only looked at him. Behind her, Inuyasha scoffed. "I was the one who had to run across Japan and back again, and all she had to do was bring her little soul demons, and she's the one who gets thanked. Typical." 

"Inuyasha, where is Kagome?" Sango asked after looking around. 

Inuyasha shrugged. "At the Old Hag's hut. I couldn't carry both her and Kikyo on my back. I may be half demon, but I'm not a packhorse." 

Sango smiled slightly and shook her head. She knew that Kagome would be livid and absolutely in terror that Inuyasha and Kikyo would have rekindled their romance on the journey. Catching Miroku's gaze, they both shrugged and laughed. 

"Take Kikyo home and see to Kagome," Miroku said, catching Sango's hand in his. "We'll catch up." 

Looking at their joined hands, Inuyasha felt his jaw drop. Quickly regaining composure, he glanced at Shippo. Shippo blinked in suprise at their entertwined fingers and looked back at Inuyasha. 

Before Inuyasha could demand to know what had happened inside the Orb, Kikyo grasped his arm. "Take me back," She repeated. Inuyasha stooped so she could climb onto his back. Then he smiled wickedly. 

_When I see Kagome I'll tell her all about Sango and Miroku before she can start yelling at me,_ he thought, racing off through the countryside, _ That should shut her up._

Fin.


End file.
